Too Human Preview

Forever in the making, but still on track

You may or may not recognize Canadian-based development studio Silicon Knights. If you can recall, this particular team worked on PC oldies like Fantasy Empires (1993) and Dark Legions (1994). They moved on to create the gripping vampire-themed action adventure Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, for the PlayStation in 1996, subsequently bringing it to the PC. Just so there's no confusion, Crystal Dynamics acted as a co-publisher on this one (along with Activision), while Silicon Knights handled the development. After a while Silicon Knights switched platforms and delivered the excellent action adventure Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem for the Nintendo GameCube. Eventually, they brought Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes to the GameCube, which marked yet another reasonably successful endeavor for the developer.

The experienced development team took up their next challenge and has, for several years, been busy with Too Human, a single-player sci-fi action game with RPG elements. The concept for the game came into view prior to Blood Omen during the mid '90s. It underwent a long and shaky development cycle. Originally planned as a 5-disc action adventure for the PS One, Too Human shifted to a different platform - the GameCube. Unfortunately, the GC version never saw the light of day and the project grinded to a halt, until Microsoft announced a partnership with Silicon Knights in the effort to create a trilogy in the Too Human universe, exclusively for the Xbox 360. Getting off to a lousy start, the game faced further problems, this time related to the Unreal Engine 3, which powered it. In July 2007 details surfaced of a lawsuit between Silicon Knights and Unreal Engine 3 proprietor Epic. While SK claims Epic offered little-to-no support for the Unreal 3 code, Epic argued that the creators of Too Human were using the technology as they pleased. Consequently, SK dropped the technology and started working on an in-house built code, which would, supposedly, replace all traces of Unreal Engine 3 before the game ships. Parts of the UE 3 are still being used though. Epic moved to dismiss the lawsuit, asserting that Silicon Knights wanted "to take Epic's Licensed Technology, pay nothing for it, and use it any way it pleases." The motion was denied and a trial date is yet to be set. Meanwhile, Too Human appears to be alive and well.

As far as the main campaign goes, players step into the role of a cybernetically enhanced warrior named Baldur, who finds himself in the middle of a chaotic war-torn world. The ongoing conflict is spreading and threatens entire mankind. To cut a long story short, Baldur enters the fray and has to defend humans from an onslaught of powerful war machines. Frequently outnumbered, Baldur has to rely on his skills, which include both melee and ranged attacks.

The action will take place in third-person and your character will be able to wield weapons like handguns, rifles and lasers, for long-ranged combat, in addition to using melee weapons like pole-arms, swords, hammers and such.

Too Human introduces a story-driven single-player experience. Those who prefer multiplayer action will also be allowed to enjoy a 4-player co-op. In any case, players will have the opportunity to choose between five unique characters classes: Champion, Beserker, Commando, Bio-engineer and Defender. Silicon Knights also hinted that more character classes will become available via Xbox Live following the game's release.

RPG ingredients were incorporated, so it's not all about random shooting. You level your hero and improve abilities, depending on which class you're playing with. The character level cap is reportedly set at 50. Each class specializes in different combat styles. When you're playing as the Champion, you'll get access to certain abilities such as an aerial attack, which enables the character to assail enemies and keep them up in mid-air. The Champion is also a versatile character class, with numerous additional skills (yet to be revealed). The Beserker, on the other hand, dual-wields melee weapons and is capable of dealing out great damage to foes. Those who go for the Commando class will be using a wide choice of explosives and ranged weapons (grenade launchers, automatic rifles and so on), both of which happen to be the commando's specialty. The Bio-engineer, as you might've guessed already, is a healer, but also represents an adept fighter. Finally, there's the defender. The Defender's area of expertise is providing protection for other characters, mainly by using an effective shield and wielding a powerful one-handed weapon for close combat.

Controlling characters is a slightly different experience than in most Xbox 360 games. Changing the camera angle, for instance, is practically automatic (you may only zoom in and out by pressing the D-pad). The right analog stick on your gamepad is actually used to pull off well-placed melee attacks in a desirable direction. When wielding ranged weapons, the right analog stick is utilized for moving your crosshair and switching between targets.